1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dehumidifier for a room. More particularly, the present invention relates to a container for storing a desiccant material, filtering fluid collected by the desiccant material, and storing the collected fluid separate from the desiccant material. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a dehumidifier container that detaches a compartment for disposing collected water for continued use of the desiccant material in the holding compartment.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Desiccants by adsorption collect water on the surface of the desiccant compound. Desiccants by absorption collect water within the desiccant compound. Adsorption results in a collection of water to be removed and drained from the surface of the desiccant material. In contrast, absorption results in expansion of the volume of the desiccant material. When desiccant materials are used to remove water and water vapor from the atmosphere to maintain a drier environment, the desiccant container must account for whether the desiccant material adsorbs to collect water or absorbs to expand in size. Silica gel, calcium sulfate, activated charcoal, and calcium chloride are known desiccant materials.
The basic container for desiccant includes a housing and a vapor permeable membrane. The housing and membrane hold the desiccant in place, while the membrane exposes the desiccant to moisture in the atmosphere. The desiccant removes water from the air, while remaining contained in the housing. For an adsorbent desiccant material, the water is collected on the desiccant material and must be drained from the container. For an absorbing desiccant material, the container must allow for expansion of volume by the desiccant material. Most housings allow placement of the desiccant material in various locations within a room or other enclosed space. There are known containers, such as jars to set upon counters and pouches to hang from a horizontal closet rod.
Many simple versions of a desiccant container are known. U.S. Pat. No. 2,592,162, issued to Luce on Apr. 8, 1952, discloses a hanging container for desiccant material suspended in the air. U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,830, issued to Esposito et al on Jul. 28, 1964, describes a container with an indicator for saturation of the desiccant material inside the container. The container is a traditional model for setting on a counter or shelf. Various specialized containers are disclosed for limited applications, such as air flow through a motor vehicle air conditioning system and coatings for packaging.
More recent publications relate to specialized desiccant containers. U.S. Publication No. 20130269293, published for Dowling on Oct. 17, 2013, describes a container for protein powder in a sealed jar. U.S. Publication No. 20130213828, published for Chatterjee et al on Aug. 22, 2013, discloses another specialized pill bottle with an attached structure to hold desiccant material.
Every desiccant container must still account for the storage of water. For desiccant materials, which absorb, the container must be expandable to account for the change in volume of the desiccant material. The water is stored in the desiccant material in that situation. For desiccant materials, which adsorb, the container must separate the collected water from the surface of the desiccant material for storage and eventual removal. The water is stored separate from the desiccant material in the container.
For continued use over longer periods of time, the collected water must be separated from the surface of the material so that the material can continue to collect water. The life span of the desiccant material can be extended by efficiently removing collected water from the surface. Containers must have storage accounting for this separation collected water. The storage can be periodically drained, so that the container can be re-used. The storage can be filled over and for re-filling of storage. Furthermore, disposable desiccant materials can be expensive with purchasing new amounts of desiccant and new containers every time. For longer lasting containers with re-fillable desiccant material, the ability to maintain the capacity of the desiccant to adsorb and removal of the water from the container are important considerations. The storage of a desiccant container for limited seasonal use can also affect the structure and form of the container.
Also for continued use over longer periods of time, equilibrium between the collected water and the exposed desiccant material should be avoided. When the same desiccant material is exposed to the same collected water, there can be a micro-environment where the collected water evaporates into the desiccant material, which re-collects the vapor and re-deposits the vapor as collected water over and over. The prior art systems maintain this micro-climate, which reduces the effectiveness of the desiccant material stored in the container. Just passive storing desiccant material is insufficient for a long-lasting and re-useable desiccant container.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container to house desiccant material in a holding compartment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container with separate compartments for desiccant and water storage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container with a drainage connection between the holding compartment and a water storage compartment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container to filter collected fluid through the drainage connection between the holding compartment and a water storage compartment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container to prevent equilibrium between the collected water and the desiccant material.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container with airflow through the holding compartment.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container that is reuseable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container that can be disassembled.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container with removable perforated screen for exposure to atmosphere.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an embodiment of a desiccant container with a removable water storage compartment.
These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specifications and appended claims.